Wikipedia talk:Peer review/Port Phillip v Van Diemen's Land, 1851/archive1

Rewording the lede

So as not to crowd up the main peer review page, I'm putting the reworded proposed lede here (without the citations and wikilinks for now; as this is just to get suggestions from the peer reviewers). In the reworked lede, as suggested by Wehwalt, I have cut down on the excessive mention of the happenings of the match and attempted to bring out the focus on the match being the first of its kind. Lourdes 05:22, 28 June 2016 (UTC)

Proposed Lede

On 11 and 12 February 1851, teams from Port Phillip, Victoria and Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) played a timeless cricket match at the Launceston Racecourse, known now as the NTCA Ground, in Tasmania. The match, proposed initially by noted Melbourne cricketer William Philpott, was organised in celebration of the separation of Victoria from New South Wales. The match was held under the aegis of the Launceston Cricket Club, which represented the Van Diemen's Land cricket team as the home team, and the Melbourne Cricket Club, which represented the Port Phillip team as the visiting team.

The match, which took close to a year in organising, became the first first-class cricket match to be held in Australia. The fixture also became the first intercolonial cricket match in Australia. The match is considered to be amongst the most significant events in the cricketing history of Australia.

While the first ball bowled during the match was an underarm delivery by William Henty of Van Diemen's Land, there were a significant number of additional distinctions earned and records set during the match. The match, which ended in two days, was won by Van Diemen's Land.